440 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn narrated to me. He said: Muḥammad ibn Ishkāb al-Ṣaffār narrated to us, saying: A man of his household—meaning a member of Dāwūd al-Tāʾī’s family—told me:

I once said to him, “Abū Sulaymān, you know the bond of kinship that unites us; so give me some counsel.” Tears welled up in his eyes and he replied:

“My brother, night and day are merely stages along a journey. People pass through them one stage after another until they reach the end of their travel. If you can, at every stage—each single day—send ahead some provision for the stage that lies before you, then do so. The journey will soon be cut short, and the matter is even more urgent than that. So equip yourself for your journey and settle whatever business you must settle, for it is as if the affair has already overtaken you. I say this to you, while I do not know anyone who has squandered more than I have in this regard.”

He then rose and left me.